Nature Journaling: Get started and grow!

What Is Nature Journaling?

Keeping an illustrated, observational journal is a centuries-old method that has been reenvisioned and refined through the lens of our understanding of neuroscience, learning, and deliberate practice. A nature journal is a lens that focuses our attention and crystalizes our observations, thoughts, and experiences.

Nature Journaling is collecting and organizing your observations, questions, connections, and explanations on the pages of a notebook using words pictures, and numbers. You do not need to be an artist or a naturalist to begin. These skills can be learned by anyone, and you can develop them with deliberate practice. The system is creative, rigorous, and playful, easy to begin and learn, and will grow and mature over a lifetime. Start now: you can do this, and the world is waiting.

Nature Journaling will enrich your experiences and develop observation, curiosity, gratitude, reverence, memory, and the skills of a naturalist. It helps you discover, think, remember, and integrate new information with your existing knowledge. Train your mind, and the world will offer you its secrets of wonder and beauty.

Here is a video I made to help you get started.

Free Live Online Workshops

Need some help getting started or fresh ideas to spice up your practice? Join me online for three one-hour nature journaling workshops every week at 12:00 PM Noon (Pacific Time). See the schedule for details and links to join any of the meetings. There is a new topic for every class!

  • Wednesday: Educator Forum. Join nature journaling educators from around the globe for a discussion of best practices and teaching strategies.
  • Thursday: The Nature Journal Workshop. A deep dive into the details of drawing and journaling strategies. Be sure to check the event description each week for the topic and supply list and sometimes downloadable classroom materials.

Recorded Workshops and Blog Tutorials

If you have missed any of the tutorials or classes, you can watch most of them any time by visiting my blog archive. Skim the categories and find a class that is right for you.

You also might consider attending the Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference, or purchasing the Video Pass, which gives you access to recordings from our latest conference. More information here.

Books and Materials

The Nature Journal Connection

Join me each week for a free 15-min recorded nature journaling workshop featuring fun and engaging activities that build the skills of a scientist, naturalist, artist, and observer. Appropriate for children of all ages as well as adults, this program will connect science, language arts, math, visual arts, critical thinking, and mindfulness. Learn More.

The Nature Journal Club

One of the best ways to grow is to join a community of journalers who share ideas and inspiration. Join the Nature Journal Club today! We are an international movement that integrates art, science, and nature exploration. A Nature Journal Club is a diverse family-friendly, intergenerational community of artists and naturalists, of all levels, who meet together and online to connect to nature through art and science. Local chapters organize regular field trips and workshops. We have a vibrant Nature Journal Club on Facebook with 15,000+ members worldwide, and you can also find a Nature Journal Club near you or start your own! Learn More.

Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference

The Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conference, founded in 2019, is a gathering of nature journalists from around the world. Led by John Muir Laws, our experienced teacher team offers a full schedule of classes, workshops, and field trips. The event also includes evening lectures, nature journaling challenges, social time, and an online auction. Learn more about the event.

Other Resources